3pt6 Fire With Fire
by Lamby
Summary: MY FINAL EVER EPISODE! A handful of X-Men side with the Morlocks and Mystique to take on Magneto, Gambit and evil TV boss Jacobi to save Bayville and get back the rest of the team- with tragic consiquences...
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

A/N: This is it. Not just the last episode of my third season of X-Men Evolution fics, but the FINAL episode ever. I've had great fun writing them, but all good things must come to an end… However the end is in a good few chapters time and there is more fun to be had along the way. Enjoy!

PS: I don't intend to do a massive 'previously' section to cover the stories running up to this one. Instead I'll try and explain the key bits as I go along, but if you want to know more then do read my last story, 3pt5 CCTV High. So, without further ado…

**Scene 01**

A new moon cast Bayville in a cloak of shadows. Somewhere a clock struck midnight. Its chimes sang out deep and ominous. Between the rows of neat tombstones, under a canopy of trees, the two parties met. This kind of deal felt better in the darkness. This sordid pact between two powerful men would shape the future of Bayville. The future, as they say, was not bright. But it would make good television.

Alessandro Jacobi was a fake. His name was fake. His accent, English more polished than the Queen, was fake. His business was fake. He ran every newspaper, radio station and TV channel in town through his company Pizzazz! Entertainment. It was a self-perpetuating scam that had made Jacobi a very rich man. With fingers in the pies of organised crime, local government, even Bayville High School, Jacobi was running Bayville into the ground.

Pizzazz! Entertainment news crews were covering every second and the ratings were rising at about the same rate as crime. The more popular Jacobi's TV channels got the more money he made. The more money he made the more he could feed back into organised crime and so the cycle repeated. Eventually when Bayville was completely destroyed Jacobi would move on. He'd done it before. Unless someone could link him to the problem directly he would do it again.

Magneto did not trust Jacobi, which was wise. However, he had reason to believe that Jacobi's interests were not so different to his own. A war between mutants and humans would suit both men. Or so Magneto had been told when he agreed to this meeting. The fixer, one Remy LeBeau, had been Magneto's henchman before joining the X-Men for the sake of a pretty girl or two. Magneto had been grudgingly impressed with how long Gambit had managed to tow Xavier's line. Eventually though the lure of his old life had proved too strong. Now Gambit worked for Jacobi and the first thing he had done was arrange a meeting between his old and new employers.

Magneto had brought his children, Wanda and Pietro, along with Sabretooth. Pyro had already defected to Jacobi and Colossus had returned to Russia. Jacobi brought Gambit, fellow Cajun and Gambit's ex Bella Donna, and the new Bayville High principal Paradox. The lanky black man had the ability to turn any mutant's power against them in the most unexpected fashion. Recently he had teleported Kurt to another dimension where the X-Men did not exist. Jacobi himself was human, despite surrounding himself with powerful mutants. Magneto could not fault his taste.

"Do we have an agreement?" Jacobi asked, offering a hand to Magneto. The Master of Magnetism looked at the palm suspiciously. Then, carefully, he took the hand and shook it once. Jacobi smiled. A chill ran up Wanda's spine.

In the middle distance a figure lay in the undergrowth. Night vision goggles allowed the spy to witness the handshake. Though the spy could not hear the words, she was too far away for that, she understood that gesture. Biting her lip the spy knew that the balance of power in Bayville had just shifted further into Jacobi's favour. She lay there, waiting, watching through the green-tinted goggles until both parties had left the graveyard. Then she sneaked back the way she had come.

Only the X-Men had a hope of preventing total disaster in Bayville, but the X-Men had already suffered Jacobi's wrath. Bayville's police had arrested Professor Xavier, his daughter Ilehana, her lover Wolverine, Storm, Beast, Nightcrawler, Boom Boom, Magma… the list went on and on. Where they had been taken no one knew. Only a handful remained. Scott and Jean were away at university and forbidden to return for their own safety. The rest, including Kitty and Rogue, Berserker and Iceman, were sheltering in the sewers with the Morlocks.

The spy was their nominal leader. She was about five-foot three-inches high, slender and pretty with long red curls and big brown eyes. She looked like butter wouldn't melt in her mouth. Nothing could be further than the truth. This was Blaze, the English mutant who plotted to give Jacobi exactly what he wanted. She would give him a war. And she intended to win.

Roll titles…...


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 02**

Back in the sewers, not everyone was impressed with Blaze's plan. Callisto resented having another leader occupying her home and the Morlock delighted in questioning Blaze's every decision. Tonight was no exception.

"What are you planning to do?" Callisto asked, her voice echoing through the sewer tunnel.

"Exactly what Jacobi wants," Blaze said solemnly. "Start a war. You're welcome to join us." She opened her arms and addressed all the gathered Morlocks. "All of you."

"Its suicide," Callisto scoffed. She looked passed the frightening fire elemental to her X-Men colleagues. "You're all in agreement?"

"We are," Rogue answered for them.

"You'll go up against everyone? Jacobi's mutant hirelings? The police? The TV crews? Magneto and his cronies?"

"Absolutely," Shadowcat replied, folding her arms.

"You can't possibly hope to win," said Callisto.

"We don't need to win," Blaze replied. "We need to buy Angel and Zack the time they need to connect Jacobi to what's happening in Bayville."

"Yet you have no idea what Angel and this cop friend of yours have planned?" scoffed the Morlock.

"I have an idea," Blaze let slip, "and I hope it works, but I'm not getting involved. They are on their own just like we are."

"You're not on your own," a familiar voice said from the dark depths of the tunnel. Everyone, X-Men and Morlocks, turned at the sound. A lithe figure strode from the blackness. Blue skin, yellow eyes, red hair and dressed in skin tight black, Mystique knew how to make an entrance. "Jacobi wants me arrested for a crime I didn't commit." She looked pointedly at Blaze, who gave a humourless smile. "My enemy's enemy is my new best friend. I will help you even if these cowards will not."

"The Morlocks are not cowards!" Callisto snapped.

"Then you'll both help us," Blaze stated a fact. Turning her back on Mystique and the Morlock leader she walked away into the tunnels. The X-Men followed. The war was begun…

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"Rogue?"

The Southern Belle jumped. She hadn't heard Blaze approach through the tunnels. The fire elemental pretended not to notice. She took a seat next to Rogue on what passed for a bed around here. It was basically an old mattress, resting on a ledge above a gully that occasionally filled with rainwater from the surface. Everything in the sewers was damp, cold, smelly and unhygienic. Rogue was starting to understand just how desperate the Morlocks were to have to live down here.

"I'm scared to ask," Blaze started, then stopped.

"Scared to ask what?" Rogue replied.

"For your help," Blaze answered. "I know we haven't always… ok ever… got along. But I need your help now and you're not going to like it."

"What do you need me to do?"

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Gambit knew how to make himself indispensible. Introducing Jacobi to Magneto had secured his place in Jacobi's inner circle. So when Jacobi had a meeting with Mayor Kelly, Gambit got to go along for the ride.

"You're sure," said the former Bayville High principal, "that Magneto will go through with this?" Kelly was sitting behind his mahogany desk in the Town Hall. Jacobi sat opposite him in an expensive looking chair. Gambit stood by the office door, hands clasped behind him and chin lifted defiantly. At the query, Jacobi turned and looked questioningly at his minion.

"He'll go t'rough with it," Gambit replied, "it worth his while."

Jacobi turned back to Kelly and gave a crocodile smile, "You heard the man, Kelly. It's worth your while too, or have you forgotten who paid for your election?"

Kelly knew he was beaten. Taking his spectacles off, he cleaned them with the end of his tie and then pushed them back onto his face. Kelly opened a desk drawer and retrieved an envelope from within. His hands shook as he pushed the envelope across the desk to Jacobi. The media mogul took the envelope and tucked it into an inside pocket of his designer suit. Gambit waited whilst Kelly and Jacobi stood to shake hands. Then the Cajun opened the door, standing back so his boss could pass through first.

The two men exited the Town Hall into darkness. The streetlights extended like a glowing necklace of pearls up and down the street. A blacked-out limo waited for Jacobi at the bottom of the steps. Jacobi paused, surveying his domain. Gambit cleared his throat, "You want me to take the key-card to Magneto?"

"No," Jacobi replied, "Bella Donna can take it when she has the chemical from our friend Mr Spears." With a chuckle he added, "Go home, Remy, and finish your unpacking. I will see you tomorrow."

Jacobi left in the limo. Remy watched the car drive off before he pulled his keys from his pocket and went to his Bayville District News branded motorbike. He pulled on his helmet and started the engine. It was only a short ride to his rented apartment. Gambit realised how tired he was as he parked the bike and went inside to call the lift to the third floor. Since being expelled from the X-Men he'd been crashing at the Brotherhood house. Now he was working for Jacobi he was only too happy to spend his wages on rent rather than share a bathroom with Toad.

Remy had known just the place, too. It was a nice, two-bed apartment in a block in the centre of town. Once upon a time two X-Men had lived here, Ilehana Xavier and her friend Blaze. Even as one of the Acolytes, Gambit had been welcome here. Vixen and Blaze might not live here any more and would probably never welcome him into their company again, but the apartment still felt like home.

His key scraped in the lock and he pushed the door open. Inside the flat was in darkness. Boxes and bags were heaped haphazardly on the floor, testament to his recent relocation. Empty beer bottles and last night's pizza box were discarded on the rug, whilst his trench coat lay over the back of the nearby sofa. Gambit noticed none of this, because there was someone in the room.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 03**

A slender silhouette stood by the window, black against the streetlights outside. Gambit recognised her instantly and gasped. She had come home, come back to him! He took a step forward as she turned towards him. The look on her face was sorrowful. It was the last thing Gambit remembered seeing.

Rogue's bare hand grasped Gambit's forehead from behind. The Southern belle held on as images from Remy's mind flashed into her own. Rogue concentrated, collecting thoughts, feelings and information from the Cajun. The contact lasted longer than was comfortable for either of them, but Rogue didn't let go until she was absolutely sure she had what she needed.

As soon as Rogue broke contact, both she and Gambit swooned. Rogue fell to her knees, her white hair bobbing around her grey face. Gambit teetered on his heels then fell backwards unconscious. Blaze darted forwards from the window and caught his head just before it hit the floor. She lowered him gently the final few inches, then checked his pulse. It was strong, but Blaze was sure he would have one heck of a headache when he woke up. She was sorry for that, too.

Rogue reached out and placed a gloved hand gently onto Blaze's shoulder. Blaze looked across Gambit and met Rogue's gaze. Rogue managed a Remy-like half smile and told the redhead, "He really cares for you, y'know?"

"I think he might care for me a whole lot less after this," Blaze replied sadly. Rogue frowned, stroking Blaze's cheek with the back of her gloved finger. "Don't count on it," she said. Blaze took Rogue's hand in hers and squeezed it tight. Between them Remy gave an unconscious moan.

"Well?" Mystique asked, striding through the door and ruining the moment. Blaze and Rogue startled and got to their feet. Shadowcat was right behind Mystique. Kitty looked from Rogue to Blaze and back again questioningly. Blaze took charge, "Kitty get him outta here."

"No problem," Kitty agreed. She took hold of Remy by the arm and sank him down through the floor. The Morlocks were waiting in the sewers below the building. They would see that Gambit was secured. Blaze turned her attention back to Rogue and Mystique.

"Rogue did you get everything?"

"Yeah," said Rogue, rubbing her forehead and looking pointedly at Blaze, "and then some." Blaze pretended not to notice, turning instead to Mystique, "You're sure you are up for this?"

"Absolutely Cherie," the shape-shifter answered in Remy's voice. At the same time she dropped into Gambit's form, folding her arms and blinking red-on-black eyes in the gloom. Blaze circled, giving the metamorph a critical going-over.

"Back straight," Blaze ordered, poking Mystique in the spine and making her wince. "Chin up. That's better."

"I only have to fool Jacobi," Mystique moaned. "I doubt he has such… intimate knowledge of our Cajun friend as the two of you."

"Jacobi and Bella Donna," Rogue interjected, coming to stand by Blaze's side. "She and Remy were…you know, when they were growin' up."

"And now?" Blaze tried to keep the jealousy out of her voice. She hadn't known about Gambit and Bella, not for sure.

"Bella's made a few passes," Rogue shrugged. "Probably jus' jealous dat Remy got Jacobi's ear… Do I sound like him still?"

"A little," Mystique replied with obvious humour. "Can I suggest we take a seat Rogue?" She indicted towards the sofa. "This briefing could take some time."

"You're ok with this?" Blaze asked Rogue, who nodded.

"Yeah, but next time you wanna pull a stunt like this, get yourself a telepath."

"I'll bear that in mind," Blaze smiled, squeezing Rogue's shoulder in a friendly gesture. Then she left.

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Berserker met Blaze as she re-entered the Morlock realm. Ray gave here some bottled water and a brown paper bag containing a stale baguette with some limp lettuce and half a slice of ham. It was the best food they had. He asked her, "How did it go?"

"It went," Blaze replied cautiously. The incident with Rogue, who ordinarily hated Blaze, had thrown her. Blaze was dreading what she had to do next. She kissed Ray on the cheek as a thank you for the food and his concern, before going deeper into the sewer.

"Spyke, Cannonball, how did you get on?" Blaze asked.

"Great," confirmed Cannonball, shaking a can of spray paint so that it rattled.

"We tagged all the escape routes," Spyke replied solemnly. "Wherever an X-Man or a Morlock is in Bayville they'll be able to find their way back here."

"Pink Xs for safety," Cannonball elaborated. "Green, blue or yellow Xs are dead ends, just like you asked for."

"Great work," Blaze thanked them. "Get rid of the aerosols and pass the word about the paint code. You did good."

The boys both glowed at the praise before heading off into the warren of sewers to pass the word. Blaze had wanted this network of marked entrances across Bayville, but she needed to disguise them from the authorities, hence the different colours. She just hoped that the myriad of coloured Xs that had sprung up across Bayville would confuse her enemies long enough.

Bobby Drake was tapping away at a laptop keyboard. Dubious looking wiring attached the laptop to a conduit that ran above the boy's head. Sparks periodically flashed from the wiring, but Iceman seemed happy enough. He jumped as Blaze leaned over his shoulder to check his progress, "Oh, it's you."

"We online yet?" said Blaze.

"Oh yeah," boasted Iceman. "I've hacked directly into the Bayville High systems. Their own network is supporting our access, but don't worry it is completely secure. They won't even know we are here."

"Great," said Blaze. "How do you plan to circulate this?"

"I've created a viral email," Iceman replied. "It'll email every address in the school as soon as I hit the right function key. Then it'll use the contacts of each of those email accounts to replicate and forward itself automatically. In a few hours, we'll have gone global."

"So much for television," Blaze murmured respectfully.

"All set?" Shadowcat asked as she joined them.

"If you are," said Blaze, "is Bayvillegirl2709 ready to tell the world what is really going on here?"

"You betcha," Kitty was excited. "Leave it to us Blaze, we'll get the word out…" Kitty fell silent as Callisto approached.

"Your boyfriend has woken up," Callisto growled at Blaze. "He's asking for you."


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 04**

Blaze didn't rise to Callisto's baiting, much as she wanted to put the Morlock in her place. Biting her tongue she turned and walked down a deserted tunnel to the room where Remy was being held. Scaleface was guarding a giant sliding iron door. Blaze told the Morlock to take a walk, handing over the bag of food as a bribe. Scaleface didn't need telling twice. Alone, Blaze threw a metal lever and dragged the door open just enough for her to walk through. She closed it behind her and then turned to her prisoner.

Gambit was strung up by the wrists, suspended from an old pipe which ran across the dank room. His hands couldn't touch anything, so he could not use his powers to free himself. The raising of his arms had pulled his shirt out of his waistband, revealing a slice of toned midriff and a long pink scar across his belly. Remy's head was down and his eyes were closed as Blaze approached. She unscrewed the top of the water bottle and raised it to his lips.

Almost instinctively Gambit drank a little. Suddenly though his eyes opened, he turned his head to one side and spat the water from his mouth. Blaze stood back as Gambit turned to glare at her, straining the ropes around his wrists. He growled at her, "Pourquai?"

"Because I'm surrounded from every direction. Jacobi has the police, the TV crews, his own mutants and now you've given him Magneto. I have a bunch of sewer-dwelling cowards and some homeless teenagers," she took a breath, and then continued. "The only advantage I have is that Jacobi doesn't know me, doesn't know how I work. You do. You know me better 'n anyone. I couldn't leave you in there to betray me. I hope you understand."

"Don't you t'ink they might notice I'm missing?" growled Remy.

"No," said Blaze. "Did I forget to mention I also have Mystique?"

"Mystique?" Gambit blustered, "she won't fool…"

"Bella Donna?" Blaze interrupted softly. Remy glared but promptly changed the subject.

"You t'ink you can trust Mystique to spy on Jacobi? You can't. She only in dis for herself."

"That's fine by me, as long as she thinks I trust her and need her, she'll keep out of my way," said Blaze. She stepped closer and offered Gambit more water. The Cajun drank eagerly, hoping the water might ease his Rogue-induced headache. Taking the bottle away, Blaze dropped her eyes and gently touched the scar on his stomach. When it had happened, he'd called her for help. He had needed her to save his life and she had done it. It felt like a lifetime ago. Blaze closed her eyes and focused on her words.

"I'm sorry to do this to you, but we both know I can't trust you Rem. Please don't try to escape. Scaleface is guarding the door and I don't want either of you hurt."

"Blaze!" Gambit called out as she turned and walked to the door. "Laura! Please…" But she didn't want to know, and she left.

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Rogue was waiting outside. All Blaze wanted to do was curl up in her sleeping bag and hide away from the world, but she knew she had to deal with Rogue first. The contact with Gambit had made something weird happen to the Southern belle and Blaze wasn't sure that she hated it… Giving a sheepish smile she asked, "Feeling more like yourself yet?"

"Yeah," Rogue was equally awkward. "Listen Blaze…"

"I don't want to know Rogue. That…that moron thinks he cares for me so much and yet he can't understand how important the X-Men are to me. He actually believed I'd leave town rather than fight to get the Professor back and I…"

"No, Blaze, you need to hear this. I know what Magneto is going to do and its happening tonight!"

Blaze was about to ask what this was, when Callisto approached with a meek Scaleface in tow. Callisto, hands on hips, took Blaze to task, "I understood that the Morlocks were guarding the prisoner. Has that changed?"

"Absolutely not," Blaze replied, "be my guest. What were you saying Rogue?"

"Jacobi's made a deal with Spears Sports, y'know, they made the sports drink that poisoned Evan. Bella Donna is taking a concentrated version to Magneto right now, along with keycard access to the Bayville water plant that Gambit and Jacobi just got from Mayor Kelly. Magneto is going to poison the drinking water for every mutant in Bayville!"

"They can't!" spluttered Callisto. "He wouldn't! Magneto wouldn't poison his own kind, would he?"

"You betcha," Rogue explained. "His own mutants, and Jacobi's, know to drink bottled water only. They won't get sick but others will. Jacobi will show the sickness on his TV shows and an investigation will trace the source back to the town's water supply. It'll recruit hundreds of mutants to Magneto's cause. There will be riots."

"Which will make good TV, line Jacobi's pockets and start the whole cycle off again," Blaze concluded. "Rogue, tell Kitty to use the blog to get the word out. Mutants must avoid drinking mains water or they will get sick."

"You're not going to try to stop them?" argued Callisto as Rogue left.

"With what?" Blaze replied. "I can't fight fire with fire, not like this. The only chance we have is a guerrilla war. An all-out battle with Magneto will annihilate us. Besides if we are caught in the water plant then we will get the blame and the water might be poisoned anyway. It's too risky."

"So you'll do nothing?" Callisto shouted. Blaze responded by throwing the bottle of water for Scaleface to catch, before finally heading for her sleeping bag.

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Blaze was aware of voices around her before she really woke up. Sleepily she hoped they would go away, and she could get back to her dream. It had been a good dream. She had been sat in the Institute's garden drinking English tea with the Professor. She had been telling him everything that was happening; her problems keeping control of the remaining X-Men and the Morlocks, her fears about Jacobi and his alliance with Magneto, her worry that she couldn't buy enough time for Zack and Angel to find a grown-up way of bringing Jacobi to justice, and her confused feelings for Gambit.

The Professor had said nothing, just waiting and listening until Blaze had finished speaking. Now he was about to tell her what he thought, but when he opened his mouth it was Rogue's voice that Blaze heard, "Move over Ray, we gotta wake her up."

Blaze groaned, "I'm awake. What's happening? Did Gambit escape?"

"Worse," Rogue told her as she took Blaze's hand and helped her to sit up. "Callisto took the Morlocks to fight Magneto. It's all over the news."

"Show me," said Blaze, suddenly wide awake. So they did.


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 05**

Rogue and Berserker led Blaze through to Bobby's computer. Iceman was streaming the morning's Bayville District News broadcast. Iceman, Jubilee, Kitty and Cannonball were glued to the screen. Blaze watched mutely as the broadcaster said that a gang of mutants had been caught trying to poison Bayville's drinking water. Pictures of the Morlocks being led away by the police were reminiscent of the recent arrests at the Xavier Institute. There was no sign of Magneto, Sabretooth or the Brotherhood.

"I updated the blog," Kitty said solemnly. "Anyone who reads it will know that the Morlocks were trying to stop this, not start it."

Blaze nodded, and then a thought occurred to her that worried her. She ran to Gambit's cell, only to breathe a sigh of relief when Spyke was by the door. A row of bony spikes held the door firmly shut. There was no noise from the other side.

"Don't worry," Evan told Blaze. "He's not going anywhere."

"You heard?" Blaze asked Ororo's nephew.

"Yeah," Spyke nodded. "I heard. I'd have been arrested too if Callisto hadn't insisted a Morlock stayed to guard Gambit. I was pretty angry when she chose me, but I guess she did me a favour."

"Now what?" Iceman asked as the X-Men congregated.

"We hit back," Blaze replied. "On our own terms. But first you'll be needing new uniforms."

"New what?" asked Jubilee. Confused, the teens followed Blaze to a short length of tunnel not far from where she slept. There she pulled out a large cardboard box which she opened. Routing through the contents she pulled out some of the items and tossed them to each member of the group, including Spyke. Jubilee held hers up, revealing a plain black hooded sweater. There were black gloves too, to stop them from leaving fingerprints anywhere. Finally Blaze had cell phones for them all, plain black ones with each number pre-programmed into all the others.

"Jacobi thinks he has the X-Men beaten," Blaze told them. "The Morlocks too," she nodded to Spyke. "He's forgetting one thing. We're not just mutants. We're something much worse than that. We're teenagers.

"Iceman, I want you to synch all the phones to the blog. From here on in we're all Bayvillegirl2709. We're going to split up into pairs, go out into Bayville and find Jacobi's live crews. I don't care if it's Bayville Lite, BDN or Radio Bayville. Find them, report the trouble they are causing on the blog and then run them off. Use whatever means you can, but try not to use mutant powers. This isn't about mutants versus humans. This is about Bayville's teenagers taking back our town…"

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Bella Donna was seething. She paced backwards and forwards, her cowboy boot heels clicking furiously on the floor. The sound echoed around the dark, windowless production room. A bank of flat-screen monitors filled one wall, below which was a complicated console of switches and sliding controls. Each of the monitors showed a different feed from the TV camera crews that patrolled Bayville. Over her blonde braids Bella Donna was wearing a headset with an earpiece and microphone. She waved her hands as she shouted.

"I don't care," Bella shouted, "if dey unleashing rabid gators on you! Get the damn pictures Joey!"

"Is there a problem?"

Bella startled, spinning to see her boss enter the room with Gambit right behind. Jacobi rarely ventured down into her domain. He'd always trusted her to manage the day-to-day TV production and she'd never let him down. There must be a reason why he had come down now, today, just when she was having the worst possible time trying to keep the feed up and running. Her gaze fell on Gambit, who smiled at her and winked. That was the reason, right there. Whatever game Gambit was playing, he was coming dangerously close to making Bella an enemy.

Bella switched off her microphone before replying. "The mobile units are under attack. BDN, Bayville Lite, radio, even the print press have been targeted."

"Attacked?" Jacobi sounded half-horrified, half-sceptical, "by whom?"

"We don't know," Bella Donna admitted. "Teenagers in black hooded sweaters… They show up just in the back of the camera shots and then disappear. Within seconds the cameras either go down or the crews come under some kind of bombardment. We've had eggs thrown, rotten fruit, even water bombs. To start with there weren't many, maybe four different groups judgin' by where they appeared across Bayville. But it spreadin' and now we got copycats all over de place."

"How can there be copycats? How does word get round so quickly?" asked Jacobi.

"Because of dis," Gambit said, walking to a console and bringing up a webpage. It was the blog of Bayvillegirl2709. Punching a couple more keys, Remy brought up a clever graph that indicated site traffic over the last couple of hours. Bella Donna looked at him with an expression close to horror. Gambit gave her a patronising glance, "You knew 'bout dis, right? A new post is posted jus' before one o' your crews are hit an' site traffic goes t'rough the roof." Gambit hit another key and brought up a line that overlaid the first plot on the graph. "Dis shows the peaks in TV viewing figures. See the correlation? Whoever dis is they are tellin' everyone where they gonna hit on the blog, people read it an' tune in to watch."

"And the copycats?" queried Jacobi. Gambit shrugged, "Everyone wanna be on TV, non? It ain't hard when someone shows you how."

Bella Donna wished the floor would open up and swallow her. She had missed the blog, and even worse she had missed the peak in her own viewing figures that would have alerted her to when a crew was about to be brought down. For Gambit to work it out before she had just made it worse. This was her world, her job. She had convinced Jacobi to take her ex on board, to bring him into their inner circle. She had not anticipated that he would replace her at Jacobi's right hand.

"Bella," Jacobi crooned like a doting father. It was the way he used her name when she had really, really screwed up and it made her wince. "Have the police caught any of the perpetrators?" Bella shook her head mutely. By the time the police got there, the hoodies had disappeared. Something to do with spray-painted markers, but she didn't know what exactly. "Then can I suggest," said Jacobi in a tone that wasn't a suggestion, "that you get out there yourself and find out what is happening. Now."

Bella Donna didn't need telling twice. As she left, Mystique smiled a very Gambit smile.


	6. Chapter 6

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 06**

"Where are we goin'?" Rogue asked. Blaze took a couple of seconds to answer as she peered around the corner of an alleyway and assessed the street beyond. Increasingly impatient, Rogue followed Blaze's gaze and recognised the landmark they were aiming for. "Warren's office? Ah thought we were stayin' clear of Warren an' Zack whilst they put Professor Xavier's plan into action?"

"We were," Blaze admitted. "That was before Callisto took the Morlocks and got them arrested…" She tailed off, spotting a likely crowd and pulling Rogue into it. Rogue's instant reaction was to fight against Blaze. The Southern girl didn't do well in crowds and didn't like being dragged along by the wrist like an unruly six-year-old. Glancing upwards Rogue saw why Blaze was doing this and instantly averted her eyes.

The street between the alleyway where they had come up from the sewers and Warren's workplace was covered by several CCTV cameras. The cameras fed back to a police control room that was on the look out for teens in black hoodies. Rogue decided to trust Blaze, who was used to moving undetected through a crowd from her time as a thief. Soon they were across the street and making for a fire escape at the back of Worthington Towers.

Despite only having been to Warren's workplace once or twice whilst they had been dating, Blaze knew the way to his office blindfold. Rogue could only admire the redhead's memory as she navigated stairwells and corridors like she worked in the building every day. The way into Warren's penthouse office was barred by a secretary who would probably recognise both Blaze and Rogue. To get round her, Blaze dived into a deserted office on the floor below and picked up the phone.

"Mr Worthington's office, Mandy speaking."

"Mandy it's Rachel in accounts," said Blaze in her best telephone voice. "There's a problem with the Pizzazz! invoicing. Something about the order numbers having incorrect prefix?"

"Rachel…err, yes," Mandy clearly had no idea who Rachel was but didn't want to admit it. "Can you send the invoices up to me and I will take a look?"

"Umm, I don't know… I think it would be better if you came down and I can show you myself? It's just they really need to get done today." Blaze was awfully polite and it worked. Mandy agreed, put the phone down and within seconds was on her way to the lift to go to accounts. Blaze and Rogue ran up the stairs and made it past Mandy's unattended desk.

In his office, Angel was deep in discussion with Officer Lance Hozack, Blaze's South African cop friend who was in town as a special request from…someone… in relation to Pizzazz! Entertainment's presence in Bayville. Alessandro Jacobi had previously operated out of Cape Town and Zack had nearly had him successfully arrested there. Things had got hot, Jacobi had got wind of what the police were up to and he had left. Now Zack was getting a second attempt to bring Jacobi to justice, and he wasn't about to let it slip through his fingers.

Not tall, Zack was blond haired and broad shouldered, muscled and tanned like a surfer. When Blaze and Rogue entered, Zack and Angel were pouring over documents that were spread over Warren's desk. Both men looked up, shock quickly turned to relief as they saw both girls were ok. Angel went straight to Rogue and swept his girlfriend into a tight hug, kissing her hair. Rogue ran her gloved hands down Angel's white wings and rested her cheek on his chest.

Blaze felt a bit awkward as Rogue and Angel embraced, scuffing the carpet with her toe. Zack had no such qualms. He crossed the room and pulled Blaze into a bear hug. Blaze, her hands tangled in the front of Zack's shirt, just let him hold her. Abruptly a weight seemed to lift from her shoulders. It was good to feel like someone else was looking after her, even for just a moment. She hadn't realised how tired she was of being responsible, not just of the other X-Men and the fight against Jacobi, but even of herself. Childlike, she gave an involuntary half-sob and rested her cheek on Zack's chest. Zack smiled. Watching them Rogue felt a stirring of a jealousy she didn't think was hers.

Reunion over, the explanations began in earnest. The boys wanted to know why Blaze had broken her own arrangements about keeping apart so as not to jeopardise the master plan. Blaze explained the loss of the Morlocks, finishing with, "I need to even the balance."

"You want me to divert the police," Zack understood immediately.

"Yes," Blaze nodded. "If you can, or tell me how to do it. This is all coming to a head and it will be bad enough without the cops involved as well."

"Can ya do that?" Rogue wanted to know. "Can ya keep the cops distracted?"

"Yah," Zack nodded. "But it's not easy to do. Let me make some calls eh? Jacobi may just find he doesn't have the control over the police he think he has."

"Have we got time?" Angel asked cryptically. "I don't want to put the X-Men in danger, but we're on the clock here Zack."

"I know," Zack replied, "but you got it covered now eh? You don't need me for this last part." He sounded confident, but Blaze could see he was bluffing. Angel seemed to buy it though and he puffed out his chest with pride.

"Can Ah ask?" Rogue said shyly, "what are ya doin' exactly? Blaze won't say."

"Blaze doesn't know," said the redhead with a coy smile. "Blaze has an idea, but that's all."

"You'll find out soon enough," Warren told them both. "It's to do with bank accounts and financial investment. You know that Pizzazz! Entertainment invested in my R&D department right?"

"Warren…" Zack growled. "I know they won't say anything, but you don't know if they might be captured and compromised."

"Very wise," Blaze agreed as if it hadn't been her idea in the first place. There were noises outside that sounded like Mandy returning from her fruitless trip to accounts. "We'd better go…"

"Need a ride?" Warren suggested, lifting his wings slightly.

"You'd never carry both of us," Blaze chastised him. "Just distract Mandy, we'll do the rest." Warren agreed and Rogue embraced her boyfriend quickly. Minutes later Rogue and Blaze were safely out of the building and pondering their next move.


	7. Chapter 7

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 07**

The sun had begun to set, casting long shadows over Bayville in early evening. Bella Donna was driving her silver convertible sports car across town. It had black leather seats and a soft top. She had always wanted one like it and was therefore immensely proud of it. It had been a down payment for a loan she had illegally funded. The recipient of the loan had needed money to pay her boyfriend's bail after he was arrested. After the case was thrown out of court, Bella had got her money back but she had kept the car. What did she care if Blaze had to walk everywhere?

She was on her way to meet up with one of her TV crews when out of the corner of her eye she spotted two figures in black. Bella pulled hard on the steering wheel, veering across the oncoming traffic. Cars beeped their horns and swerved out of her way. The sports car mounted the kerb and bottomed out, clunking loudly. The two black clad figures had already disappeared around a corner. Bella pulled on the brake and leapt out of the car, snatching the keys from the ignition.

Rounding the corner, Bella expected to see the backs of the two figures disappearing down the far end of the alley. She pulled up short when they were waiting for her, hoods up, arms folded. The shadow from the hoods fell over their faces so she couldn't see who they were. By height and build Bella guessed they were female, but she wasn't sure until one of them spoke.

"Are ya following us?"

Bella Donna stuttered for words as the two girls pushed back their hoods. Blaze and Rogue both glared at her.

"You… I should have known…" Bella started. Blaze rolled her eyes and tutted loudly. That made Bella Donna angry, "You're attackin' the TV crews! Dey done not'ing to you!"

"No, they're only following orders," Blaze admitted.

"Your orders," Rogue elaborated.

"And it has to stop," finished Blaze.

"It won't stop, in never stops," growled Jacobi's minion. "We're gonna run you into de ground an' then we'll move on."

"Mmm," Blaze pondered Bella's words with a thin smile. "Not this time."

"We're stronger than ever," Bella boasted. "We own your rat-infested li'l town. We got your pathetic mayor, your police, Magneto…"

"Gambit," interrupted Rogue. Blaze raised an eyebrow. Bella baulked slightly. The two X-Men were clearly sharing a joke to which she wasn't privy. It was uncomfortable. Rogue meanwhile was enjoying herself.

"How's it goin' with Remy anyway? Ya want him back, right? Ah mean, coz you used to date in New Orleans…"

"How do you…" Bella started to ask.

"She does," Blaze chuckled. "She actually still likes him." Bella blushed crimson.

"Aww," Rogue said with mock-pity. "That's sad. Ah mean, Ah used to get it, but now I'm totally over it."

"Absolutely," Blaze lied. "Dumping him was the best thing both of us has ever done."

"You both dumped him?" Bella looked from one girl to the other. Blaze linked arms with Rogue and kinked her head to one side. Innocently she asked, "You didn't?"

Bella stuttered, spluttered and tried to think what to say. In truth, as both X-Men had worked out, Gambit had left Bella Donna when he had left New Orleans. She hadn't got over it. Whilst Bella struggled to think of a reply, a tall shadow fell across the sidewalk behind her. She turned, feeling threatened, only to see Gambit standing between her and the street beyond. He flashed a smile, not at her, but at Blaze and Rogue behind her. Bella was knocked speechless.

"You don't have Gambit," Blaze had come close and whispered in Bella's ear. "And you don't have Bayville." As Bella Donna watched, Gambit melted away and was replaced by a woman with blue skin. Mystique barely gave Bella Donna chance to squeak. The changeling launched a roundhouse kick at the Cajun and sent her flying. Bella's head connected with the floor and she was knocked out. Mystique didn't seem to notice.

"It's started," Raven Darkholme announced. "A riot at the prison. All the police are headed there now along with most of the media."

"Zack moves fast," Blaze said with appreciation. She twirled her car keys around a finger, having pick-pocketed them from Bella moment's earlier. "Nice one. Well, I guess there's no time like the present."

"What about her?" Rogue nodded to the prone form of Belle on the pavement.

"I suppose we'd better call her an ambulance," Blaze sighed. "You can do it in the car. C'mon Rogue, we gotta go."

"Good luck," Mystique announced, shape-shifting into an anonymous passer-by. "From here on, you're on your own…"

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

Meanwhile, Bayville's other resident Cajun raged. He seethed. And then he fumed. He sawed his wrists against the ropes that bound him and he called Blaze all sorts of names. Gambit was tired, his arms ached and he had not been given anything to eat since the X-Men had captured him. Consequently his stomach was complaining nearly as much as he was, but there was no one there to hear them.

Gambit had realised he had been left unattended hours ago. It made things worse, not better. He was thwarted by these damn ropes, and knowing that was the only thing holding him just made him feel ridiculous. Some thief he was, frustrated by a bit of twine!

Just as he was cursing his own incompetence, something brushed the tip of his little finger. Gambit froze. Then, very carefully, he lifted his head. A tiny, thin thread of the rope had worked loose and was touching his skin. Gambit's mouth twitched in a grin of quickly-suppressed triumph. He wasn't out of here yet, but he soon would be. The trick was going to be NOT blowing his hands off during the escape.

Gambit used a very, very fine application of mutant power, just like he had done when he unwittingly broke into Warren's home to steal half a glass spider stone. Carefully he dissolved the chemical bonds that held the material together, until the rope itself disintegrated. His full weight suddenly supported by the floor, Gambit grunted as he let his arms fall. Rubbing his wrists and cricking his shoulders, he turned his powers onto the door that was the only barrier between him and revenge…


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 08**

The city high-rises clawed up, blacking out the setting sun. The headlights from Blaze's car swept the streets below as the redhead drove too fast through the last remnants of traffic. No one stayed out after dark in Bayville any more. Everyone rushed home to watch Bayville District News tell them how dangerous it was out there. By the time Blaze pulled hard right, turning into the street in front of Pizzazz! Entertainment's HQ, most other cars had disappeared.

Outside the unassuming office block that passed for the TV and radio studio (for now at least, until the school was bulldozed and the new MediaCity constructed,) a small gaggle of protesters waited. Blaze slammed on the brakes, skidding her car to a halt besides the waiting X-Men. She and Rogue cast critical gazes over the cohort. With the X-Men were five or six other teens, also dressed in black and carrying home-made placards. Seven or eight older boys with scarves over their faces looked like they were here for a fight. But that was all. No mass protest. No triumphant gathering to chase the media company out of town. Barely even enough bodies to start a riot. Blaze felt deflated.

She'd posted the call to arms on Bayvillegirl2709's blog herself whilst Rogue called an ambulance for Bella. If Pizzazz! wanted news, Blaze would give them news! Or so she'd thought. Rogue looked at her and asked the question Blaze had been asking herself, "Now what?" Gritting her teeth, Blaze refused to be defeated. She looked at the Pizzazz! building and spied something that glinted in the lights from her car. A camera! And it was aimed straight at them. Blaze grinned, grabbing Rogue's sleeve and pointing it out.

"We play to the audience," Blaze decided. Rogue looked shocked, "Ah t'ought you didn't wanna get on TV in case someone recognised you an' came after ya?"

"I have to get the Professor back," Blaze said resolutely, more to convince herself than Rogue. Unclipping her seat belt she got out of the car, went round to the bonnet and leapt up. From her new vantage point she surveyed her followers. Upturned faces looked at her expectantly. Jubilee held out a megaphone whilst Cannonball and Spyke tested their cans of spray paint. Blaze took the megaphone, cleared her throat and turned it on.

"BDN will tell you that I'm scum," Blaze started. "BDN will tell you that I'm the reason you should stay indoors tonight. Why you should check where your kids are and what they are doing. BDN will tell you, I'm the reason Bayville has the worst crime rate in America.

"The truth is BDN are liars! I'm just like you. I am you! I live here. I shop here. I used to work in the mall, in the coffee shop. I like Bayville. It's a great place to live. But BDN don't want you to remember that. They want you to hate our town. They want to destroy it. Why? Because that's entertainment!

"We can't let them do this to our town! Bayville is better than this. Bayville deserves better that this!" Blaze turned and looked directly at the lone TV camera that was filming them. "You can do better than this! C'mon Bayville! Fight back! Show the world we are not Pizzazz! Entertainment's plaything. This is our town!"

Under his hooded sweater, Spyke had heard enough. He kicked off the sidewalk with his skateboard and headed for the building. A quick shake of his can of spray paint, and the words _OUR TOWN_ appeared in bright pink across the front doors. A cheer went up from the small crowd. Placards were waved, and for the first time the camera caught a shot of the messages. One read 'Bayville: Not for sale', and another 'Believe in Bayville'. Some had references to the mayor, 'Kelly = Traitor'. Others attacked Pizzazz! and its channels like, 'BDN: Bitter, Deceitful, Nasty'. Blaze laughed aloud as her words were taken up as a chant, "This is our town! This is our town!"

The older boys rushed the building, spray cans in hand. Slogans and devices started to cover the lower walls. Berserker and Cannonball joined in and a few X's started to mark the spot. Blaze fanned the flames of revolt, calling out to her followers, "What do we want?"

"Pizzazz! out!" the gang cried back.

"When do we want it?"

"Now!"

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"What is going on down there?" Magneto hadn't known Jacobi for long, but he could sense the frustration in the mogul's tone. For some reason that made Magneto smile. Besides their father stood Wanda and Pietro. At Jacobi's words Quicksilver ran to the window and looked down on the street far below.

"Looks like a protest," Pietro said unhelpfully. "More people dressed in black." A silver convertible drove into the street and stopped, just as Wanda joined her brother. "Hey," Pietro recognised the car "isn't that…Ouch!" Wanda stepped on her brother's foot, hard. She had recognised the car too but Jacobi didn't need to know that. If Blaze had her car back, then something had happened to Bella and if Jacobi knew he was likely to explode. Wanda didn't think that would do much good for anyone.

"Damn it!" Jacobi swore. He crossed to his desk and hit some buttons on his phone. After a few seconds his secretary answered over the loudspeaker. Jacobi shouted back. "Where are my news crews? Why is no one filming this protest? This is television gold dust! Get on it!"

"Sir," the secretary was apologetic. "The evening crews haven't all shown in for work, after the attacks today they're all afraid. Those that have are down at the prison filming the riot…"

"Then call them back! And find Bella Donna. This is her job." He slammed the phone with a meaty fist, terminating the call. Looking up, he saw Pietro and Wanda staring at him, "You. Boy."

"Quicksilver," Pietro replied, folding his arms.

"Whatever. Can you work a camera?"

"Sure," Pietro shrugged "why not?" Jacobi thrust a portable TV camera into Pietro's hands and gave him a shove towards the door. The only instruction Jacobi gave the boy was "Film this." Pietro put on a burst of speed and disappeared.

"Wanda," Magneto intervened in a voice that was loaded with meaning. "Go help your brother." Wanda gave a slow nod and followed Pietro.

"Gold dust," Jacobi muttered, going to the glass and gazing down on the protestors below. Pietro was already downstairs, filming as Blaze climbed onto her car bonnet.

"You really believe that?" Magneto asked. "There's no part of you which is concerned that the people of Bayville are starting to see through your little charade? That cracks are starting to appear in your mask of benign television production company?"

"People are stupid," Jacobi told Magneto in a derogatory tone. "I dazzle them with lights and all they do is applaud. I take away their freedom and they don't even notice."

Magneto raised an eyebrow and pursed his lips. That, he thought, was the attitude that would bring Jacobi's empire crumbling down around him. One should never underestimate the enemy, especially when the X-Men were involved.


	9. Chapter 9

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 09**

Wanda and Pietro filmed as the protest started to gain momentum. The cohort grew to a gaggle, a gathering and then a crowd. Most were teens, but some of the newcomers were adults. Someone had filled water bombs with paint and several were thrown at the building. Green and red splatters joined the sprayed devices on the walls. A nearby trashcan was set alight and the orange flames gave an eerie light to the demonstration.

A BDN news truck tried to pull up, but the older boys including Ray and Spyke surrounded the vehicle. Before the crew could get out the boys started to rock the van from side to side. They banged their fists and palms on the sides, creating a riotous drum roll. In the bedlam the driver decided he had had enough. When spray paint started being sprayed on his windscreen he floored the gas and left.

Blaze stayed on the bonnet of the car, fanning the flames of rebellion with her megaphone. Iceman, Jubilee, Kitty and Cannonball stayed close, taking up Blaze's calls and chanting at the top of their voices. Rogue moved through the crowd, welcoming newcomers and handing out shrill toy whistles. Soon a cacophony of noise filled the street. The crowd surged forwards. Someone kicked a hole in one of the ground floor windows. They tried the doors, but they were locked and barred from the inside. The protest withdrew again to surround Blaze's car. It was a wild beast now, untameable, driven on by the red-haired banshee astride her chariot.

Watching Pietro's live feed on his office PC, Jacobi felt afraid for the first time. This was a siege and he was becoming part of the news rather than its orchestrator. Three times now his producers had asked for permission to drop the feed, go to recorded programming and evacuate the building. They argued that this was getting out of hand. The longer the feed was on air, the more the size of the crowd grew. Each time Jacobi refused, calling it television gold dust. He wished Bella Donna would show up and inspire some backbone in his other employees, but there was still no sign of her.

After an hour it was fully dark and the crowd had quadrupled in size. Finally some police showed up in riot gear. They formed a thin line between the crowd and the building, but it was a mediocre defence at best. Seeing that there was no way this could end peacefully, Jacobi turned to his secret weapon.

"I have your agreement," Jacobi told Magneto in a defiant tone. "You will defend this building and its occupants with all your power, should the need arise."

"Will I?" Magneto answered.

"You will," Jacobi spat. "Or else your precious mutant community will find out that their prospective leader tried to poison them, just to start a war with humans."

Magneto knew when he was beaten. He glared at Jacobi, but he was forced to agree. Outside in the corridor he found Pyro and Sabretooth. One look from the Master of Magnetism was all it took. The two mutants fell into line and followed Magneto down through the building. Despite his obedience Pyro was confused, "We're gonna protect the humans? What are we, the X-Men?"

"We will protect our own interests," Magneto replied. "Whatever happens tonight, we will fight another day. Be assured of that."

"Strewth," muttered the Aussie. Sabretooth growled. Pietro spun the camera round just in time to see Magneto use his powers and wrench the building's doors from their hinges. The three mutants appeared in the doorway behind the police line. Pyro let rip with two towers of flame. The police jumped. They would have broken into a run except for their commander yelling at them to stand their ground and the protestors facing them.

The protestors howled their defiance at Pyro's display. Blaze raised a hand. Twisting it in the air she called the fire to her, putting Pyro's flames out. Pyro shouted out, making Blaze smile. Callously she blew him a power-laden kiss. The fuel pack on his back exploded.

All hell broke loose. Pyro flew forwards through the police line, sending officers flying left and right. Behind him the doorframe caught fire and started to smoulder. Magneto used the distraction to take the guns from the officers' holsters and press them into their hands. The protesters surged backwards and then forwards. They linked arms, blew whistles and waved placards. Sabretooth roared but was prevented from starting a fight by the police in front of him. Wanda snatched the camera from Pietro and ran forwards, focusing on the centre of the protest. Blaze started chanting and the protest took up her call.

"This is our town! Believe in Bayville! This is our town! Believe in Bayville!"

Into this chaos arrived Gambit. Trench coat swirling around him, his red-on-black eyes narrowed as he spotted the X-Men gathered around Blaze's car. She was Boudicca, inciting her heathen war-band to take on Magneto and the police. Gambit knew what Magneto was going to do even before Magneto did. The police, frightened by the mutants behind them and the mob in front of them, found the guns were lifting their hands. Every officer was terrified as the guns themselves took aim. As one the triggers activated. The guns fired.

Blaze saw the danger. Unthinking she called on her powers and at the same time shouted to her friends to dive. The crowd as one leapt to hit the ground and the bullets passed clean over them. Blaze transformed into her other form. She was a shimmering spectre cast out of orange and yellow flame. She stood there, barely flickering as the police bullets passed right through her. One took the megaphone clean out of her hand. Five smashed the windscreen of her precious car. One exploded a tyre, making the car pitch sideways. But Blaze was unhurt.

Gambit couldn't take it. Blaze had broken his heart when she dumped him, and then crushed his spirit when she had entrapped and imprisoned him. Now he_ hated_ her. Every bone in his body wanted to hurt her like she had hurt him. He didn't think. He just acted. When the bullets didn't wound her, he ran forwards into the space between the police and the protestors. Drawing a playing card, he charged it and let fly.

The world moved in excruciating slow motion. The ace of hearts streaked through the air, a comet with a fuchsia tail. Some of the protestors started to look up, Rogue and Kitty included. The police dropped their guns in disgust and fear. The sound of metal striking the sidewalk was like heavy rain. Wanda refocused the camera on the fiery form of Blaze. The fire elemental saw something coming towards her and turned her head. Her long hair flew out behind her, fire catching in the night air.

Gambit watched as Blaze saw the card. Every nanosecond was clear as crystal to him. The sudden fear on her face. The widening of her beautiful eyes. The gasp as she drew in a horrified breath. She looked past the card, seeking its origin. Her features, although they were etched in flame rather than flesh, were still of the girl he loved. Suddenly Gambit knew what was going to happen. Blaze's gaze met his and he knew he'd killed her. She knew it too and she was terrified. But it was too late…


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 10**

The card exploded. Air rushed outwards with a terrible whooshing noise. The brightness of the explosion made those who saw it instinctively shut their eyes. Blaze didn't scream or cry out. She didn't leap out of the way. She didn't change back to her human form. When the dust settled and everyone could open their eyes again, she was just…gone. Blown away. Blown out. Gone.

Rogue worked it out fastest. She cried out, "No!" Gambit fell to his knees, staring at the tangled, scorched wreck that had been Blaze's precious car. He rocked backwards onto his heels, utterly speechless. Rogue looked from the car to the Cajun and then was on her feet. She wanted to kill him. She would have done it. Her gloves were off and Gambit would not have put up a fight.

"Everybody freeze!"

Abruptly it was like noon. Overhead a helicopter turned on a massive searchlight, lighting up the whole street. The sound of the rotors made everyone look up. Zack, Blaze's South African cop friend, was leaning out of the chopper with a megaphone. As the helicopter came in low over the heads of the protesters, three massive vans pulled into the space between the opposing lines. All four vehicles were dark blue with the letters FBI emblazoned on the flanks in gold.

Wanda had dropped the camera as she realised Blaze had been murdered. Her friend… Pietro, acting quickly, had caught the camera and now turned it on the newcomers. He only got seconds of footage though, as suddenly their father had appeared and grabbed both of his children by the arm. This was not somewhere Magneto wanted to be. With Sabretooth reluctantly helping Pyro, the five made their escape. The live TV feed died as the camera suffered magnetic interference.

With FBI backup the police found they had control of the situation. The protesters were driven back and dispersed into the Bayville night. Berserker, Spyke and Rogue came close to being handcuffed before Zack intervened. The South African leapt from the helicopter and granted the X-Men his protection. Weirdly the FBI bowed to Zack's decision and the X-Men were not arrested.

The hardest part came when Zack saw the car. He turned to Rogue and started to say Blaze's name. Rogue shook her head and bit her lip. The other X-Men hadn't realised until then exactly what had happened. Kitty cried out wordlessly. Jubilee covered her mouth with her hands whilst the boys all stuttered, lost for words. Zack was the worst. Rogue saw him shake his blond head, clinging to denial. But it was too late. It was all too late.

Gambit was arrested. He didn't care. The handcuffs bit into his wrists. He didn't care about that either. He had to wait in a van whilst the FBI stormed Jacobi's building. They dragged Jacobi out, creasing his immaculate suit. The media mogul was thrown in the back of an FBI van like any criminal. Not a single TV camera saw the incident. So much for television gold dust…

Jacobi's court case got good TV coverage. Angel was a key witness for the prosecution. Jacobi had invested in Warren's company's R&D department not long after arriving in Bayville. It was a cover, a way of laundering the proceeds of crime. Jacobi intended that if anything went wrong, he could pin any crimes on Warren's company. Warren would suffer and Jacobi could walk away. Angel, Zack and the Professor had worked out that Jacobi was up to no good. Together they had used Warren's company to gather evidence for the FBI to stop Jacobi once and for all.

It worked. Jacobi was sent to jail for a very long time. Pizzazz! Entertainment was sold and its new owners decided it would be better if they left Bayville for good. Mayor Kelly had to admit that his election campaign had been paid for by Pizzazz! He apologised publically but swore he knew nothing of Jacobi's criminal activities. Without evidence to the contrary his apology was accepted. Bayville started to get back to normal.

Bella Donna checked herself out of hospital and disappeared soon afterwards. Gambit supposed that she had gone back to New Orleans but he didn't know for sure. Magneto and the Acolytes had gone quiet too, as had Mystique, but the Brotherhood carried on as ever. Some things didn't change. Some things changed for the better. The captured X-Men and Morlocks were released. They could go home. After a few days Gambit was released too. The television evidence was clear. He had launched a mutant attack on another mutant, but without a body he couldn't be charged with her murder. No one could prove that she was dead.

At the Xavier Institute for Gifted Youngsters, Rogue and her friends were struggling to adjust. There was a gap where someone that they had seen every day, talked to every day, was suddenly gone. Sometimes that gap seemed like a canyon, some days it was a hairline crack, but it was always there. The Professor did what he could. So did the other instructors. With time the hurt would fade, but knowing that would happen seemed worst of all.

Ilehana Xavier was a telepath like her father. The Vixen had brought Blaze to Bayville. They were friends. They had been friends. Vixen had been arrested along with her father so she hadn't seen Blaze die. Now she refused to accept it, spending day after day in Cerebro searching for any sign of Blaze. She wanted to reach out with her mind and touch Blaze's flame. She was left cold and alone. There was no one there.

"Let her go," Wolverine told Ilehana, reaching out to touch the nape of her neck, just below the Cerebro helmet.

"No," Ilehana shook her blonde head, eyes focused on something Logan couldn't see. "I have to find her. She has to be out there."

Logan gave a sad sigh. "She's gone, Ilehana. Let it go. Blaze didn't die so you could imprison yourself in Cerebro. She wanted you, wanted us, to be free." Ilehana lifted her hands to her head and removed the helmet. She looked up at Logan, who gave a slow nod in encouragement. Together they left the Cerebro room and the doors slid shut behind them. Darkness fell.

x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x-x

"Rogue? You in here?"

"Yeah Kitty, Ah'm here," Rogue turned away from the window and watched as Kitty turned on a lamp on the desk. Rogue's bedroom at the Institute flickered into existence around them both.

"What are you doin' hiding in the dark?"

"Thinkin'," Rogue shrugged. She turned back to look out at the night sky. Up above a shooting star creased the blackness. Somewhere someone was burning wood, the smell drifted on the breeze. Fireflies danced under the trees, performing waltzes and jigs. Kitty joined Rogue at the window and the girls watched for a few moments in silence.

"All this time, I never took Blaze seriously," said Shadowcat finally. "I guess I never really thought she was one of us. Now she's made such a sacrifice, y'know? She was more of an X-Man than I'll ever be."

"She should have gone to Paris," Rogue said. "Ah know Gambit wanted to, when he asked her. He told her to leave Bayville but she wouldn't. They could have run away to Paris an' lived happily ever after."

"You got that from touching Gambit?" Kitty asked. Rogue said nothing, inspecting her chipped nail varnish. "Do you know why he did it? Y'know…"

"I know," Rogue admitted, but she wouldn't elaborate. Kitty decided to let her friend keep her secrets. What difference did it make, in the end? What was done was done.


	11. Chapter 11

Disclaimer: I own nothing, nada, zip. Blaze has and always will own me.

**Scene 11**

…_She looked at him. She saw what he had done. Her eyes widened and her lips parted in a terrible gasp. She knew he'd killed her. Then the explosion struck…_

Remy jerked awake with that horrible image in his mind. Sweat dripped from his forehead and he struggled to breathe. Groaning, he rubbed his forehead with the back of his hand as he sat up. Swinging his legs out of bed, he heard the first notes of the dawn chorus start outside his window. He was amazed that he had slept at all. He still felt exhausted. If the guilt was going to kill him, he wished it would just get on with it. Then he could get some rest.

He was back in the Brotherhood house. With Jacobi gone, he had no money for renting an apartment. The Brotherhood boys were wary, staying well clear of him. Remy could see their fear in their faces. They were thinking if he could kill Blaze, he could kill anyone. Gambit did nothing to disillusion them. Going down the stairs he was like Moses parting the Red Sea. Toad and Blob ran one way whilst Avalanche and Quicksilver went the other. Remy walked straight into the kitchen, looking for coffee. He found Wanda.

"Murderer," she spat at him. The hatred was like radiation coming off of her. If looks could kill, Remy would have disintegrated on the spot. Yet Wanda didn't dare attack Gambit. Like the boys, she was scared he would find killing again easy. Besides, Magneto seemed impressed by Gambit's ruthless action. Wanda's father was welcoming his prodigal son back into the fold and the Scarlet Witch wasn't going to argue with Magneto.

Gambit didn't care what Wanda was or wasn't going to do. He turned his back and poured a long, black coffee. Then he put the coffee pot back very deliberately on the countertop. Without saying anything he turned to leave the room. Wanda thought about it, then made a comment as barbed as a porcupine quill to the Cajun's retreating back.

"Blaze loved you," she told him. "She wasn't ready to tell you, but it's still true. I hope you never learn to live with what you did to her."

Gambit felt like he'd been harpooned. He paused, and then pushed the pain away by concentrating on not spilling his coffee. Without dignifying Wanda's words with a reply, he left the house. Shortly afterwards the Brotherhood boys started to emerge from the woodwork like the spineless cockroaches they were. Wanda, disgusted at the world, went back to her room and locked the door.

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Walking through Bayville, Gambit was so caught up with trying to feel nothing that he didn't notice Storm and Magma coming out of a bank. Magma spotted him first and fearlessly shouted at him across the street, "Murderer! You murdered my friend!"

Gambit looked up to see Storm holding the spitting wildcat child back by both arms. Ororo looked seriously tempted to let go and let Gambit deal with the consequences. That she didn't was testament to her self-control and awareness of the members of the public that passed by, staring. Remy felt the sidewalk growing hot under his feet and decided he should be moving along. He nodded to Ororo, a sign of respect. Ororo looked mortally offended, but Remy was moving again and not looking back.

A chill wind took up and a few heavy spots of rain started to fall. Gambit wondered if it was any sign of Ororo's feelings towards him. At least she ain't freezin' me, he thought, or burnin' me. The harpoon struck again, right in the chest. When they'd been dating, Blaze had left him with little burns all the time, accidentally of course. He didn't mind. He'd give anything to go back to that, but what were the chances?

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Bayville High's Principal was Mr Radford, aka Paradox. The lanky black man had a winning smile and a loathing of badly completed paperwork. He sat at his large desk and tutted. The latest accounts for the athletics department were appalling. The price he had been quoted for new kit was completely disproportionate. This, he thought, would keep him busy until Christmas. Then again, he had nowhere better to be…

The door to Paradox's office opened and he looked up, expecting to see his secretary. The figure on the threshold was unexpected but Paradox tried not to look surprised. He flashed his famous smile and put down his pen. With open arms he welcomed his visitor into his abode, "Gambit? To what do I owe this pleasure?"

"I heard you were still here," Remy answered, "clingin' onto Bayville like a tick on a dog's belly. T'ought I'd better come see if it was true."

"Somehow I doubt you just dropped in for a chat," Paradox's tone was a warning.

"I seen what you can do," Gambit admitted. "The t'ings you do with other mutants' powers. You sent Kurt to another dimension…"

"I can't raise the dead Remy," Paradox cut to the chase.

"We don't know she's dead," Remy's voice cracked. "We don't know for sure. She jus' vanished. If dere's a chance, jus' a chance, it worth takin' non?"

"No," Paradox shook his head. "I don't know what the consequences might be. I won't do it."

"You'll do it," Gambit told him. "Or I'll go to Officer Hozack an' tell him dat one o' Jacobi's minions got away. I'll tell him you're right here at the school. The FBI will be all over you like a rash an' you'll end up keepin' your boss company in de cells."

"So Zack was working for the FBI all along?" Paradox mused, rubbing his chin and considering his options. "I guess that should have been obvious."

"Don't change the subject," Remy argued. "You wanna keep your cushy principal job or not?"

Paradox responded by pushing back his chair and standing up. He came round the desk, cracking his knuckles. He looked Gambit squarely in the eye and warned him one last time.

"I have no idea what is about to happen. Brace yourself…"

Roll credits… ... ... ... ... ...

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A/N: Well, it's been emotional, but that's the final episode of X-Men Evolution from me n' Blaze. Thanks so much for reading, don't forget to review on your way out… Hugs… Lamby

P.S. Sorry to end on a downer, if anyone really wants me to I could probably come up with a brief 2-parter like my season 3 preview 'Freaks on the inside', but if not I'll leave it as is.


End file.
